thoughts on and things learned from being a mummy

Marks of You

They are everywhere these marks of you. I find them in every corner of this house. In every room is a piece of you….a book, a ball, a teddy, a toy, a shoe, clothes hung up to dry. They are to be found all over. There are of course photos of you that we have placed; photos we look at and marvel at how quickly time marches on for it doesn’t seem like it’s been a minute since you entered this world, yet here we are 17 months later.

But there are other marks of you. Ones that I may have to look a bit closer for, but there are there as well. The little stickers you stuck on various floors of the house, hand marks on the door frames, hand marks on the windows, hand marks on the dishwasher, footprints on your bedroom wall where you kick your feet as you lie in bed not wanting to give into sleep.

I could remove these marks. I could easily peel the stickers off the floor. I could go round with a cloth and wipe away all those hand marks and foot prints. But I choose not to. When I see them they make me smile. A little person lives here; the evidence can be seen. One day you will be grown up and your toys will be gone. One day you will no longer put your little hands all over every surface in the house. One day you will be gone.

So they will stay. The sticker on the floor reminds me of your joy in finding out you could stick them to more than just the piece of paper in front of you. The marks on the dishwasher, the freezer door, the washing machine, remind me of how you want so much to help and be involved.

These marks of you could be seen by many as extra work, a frustration, an inconvenience. I choose to see them as pure joy. Yes, they can stay til they get rubbed away further down the line. Make all the marks you want dear one; you are only here for a short while and I want plenty of you left around the place for when you are gone.